A Beautiful Party

Beauties Shops

2012-02-02T08:11:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I mentioned that I have never had a macaroon before. This was the comment my friend Michelle left on my blog:

I have never had one! But that changed yesterday at the All Chocolate Kitchen. There were many flavors to choose from, it was hard to choose but I finally decided on a classic chocolate and maybe a not so classic Lemon. I also had Lemon sorbet. I was at a place called All Chocolate Kitchen, I had to indulge a little bit. The chocolate one was good but I only ate half. Very sweet.
The lemon was definitely my fave. I have a crazy thing for lemon flavored treats. I was surprised by how teeny tiny they were. I am happy to say that I now know what this sweet treat tastes like. I felt like Marie Antoinette, the Sophia Coppola version...
We also checked out a beautiful shop called The Mossy Twig. My friend wanted to get some air plants and I just wanted to be inspired. I certainly was. There were beautiful terrariums everywhere, it was magical.

I was very frugal on this trip. I wanted to buy everything but I think I made a good decision on my purchases. We went to a little flea market and I scored this huge crystal quartz. I couldn't believe my luck.

I also got this vintage necklace. Earlier that day I was wishing I had a long gold necklace to wear with my outfit and I lucked out and found this beauty. I'm so into gold right now.

This adventure took place in Geneva, IL. If you are ever in that area definitely explore the downtown. There are so many cute shops.

Hope you have a super fantastic day and where ever you are the sun is shining!

Cutting Out Cuties

2012-02-01T09:05:00.002-06:00

I have to admit it's been hard to get my mind to focus on anything besides our new house. But we don't move in for months so I have to think about other things. Monday I had the day off work so I did tedious studio things that have to be done eventually, like cutting images out of books and magazines. I find it's so much easier to have a library of images on hand when I'm ready to work instead of being in the middle of a piece and then trying to find something to collage into it. So I cut... and cut.... and cut....

And then I put this sea anemone on this geometric-like shape and I felt pretty satisfied.
Today I'm going to go exploring for inspiration. And I may eat my first macaroon. Fingers crossed.

A Home For Us.

2012-01-31T08:02:00.002-06:00

Breaking news... We got the house!! We officially close June 29 which feels like forever ever away. I'll be married by then. I'm still in shock. We got the house that was our favorite. I don't want to show too many pictures yet because the house is filled with someone else's stuff but I do want to show this picture. This amused me from the minute we first looked at the house. This little "booth" is in the basement, I've been calling it the "kissy booth." This is the room where my studio will be so I'm going to have a booth. Who knows what I'll do with that booth.

I've been going crazy on Pinterest finding all kinds of inspiration. I thought I would share some studio room inspiration with you.

Source: bhg.com via Ann on Pinterest

Source: georgiapeachez.typepad.com via Ann on Pinterest

Source: brightwishes.blogspot.com via Ann on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Ann on Pinterest

Tell me, blog readers, by sharing pics from Pinterest am I properly crediting where the pic is coming from? It seems like it is but I'm not sure. I want to make sure photos get their proper credit and I'm so new to this thing.

I'm super excited to be setting up a new space. What does your studio look like?

Glittery Sparkly Jars

2012-01-27T07:46:00.003-06:00

Good morning! Thank you for the kind responses on my last post both here and on facebook. Sometimes writing things down helps me better form a dialogue with others and gets me out of my own head. I'm going to keep making and keep exploring and keep finding places for my work.

Today let's look at something glittery. I first saw this tutorial at A Beautiful Mess and fell crazy in love. I thought this would be a perfect way to make my Animal Jars even more fun.

First I bought a couple of jars to try this out on. I went for smooth jars but I also tried it on a smaller jar that wasn't smooth. I bought Mod Podge for the first time in a million years. I can't believe I've gone this long without using it.

I painted a pattern inside the jar and used a paper towel to clean around the edges.

In this one I attempted a chevron design but it looked more like a squiggle.

And then pour the glitter...

And wait....

When that dries go with the next color.

After waiting a very long time most of it had dried but the squiggle jar was still pretty white.

The next day I had better results but the squiggle jar is still being kind of weird. I'm thinking maybe a hairdryer will get that last little bit?

Now I just need to coat the inside with a final layer of Mod Podge to keep the glitter in one place.

This was super fun. I can wait to add something cute to the lid. I'm trying to come up with ideas for the lids that aren't just animals. Any suggestions?

This Again

2012-01-25T22:05:00.002-06:00

I feel like I am having a little bit of an art crisis... (who me? No.....) Ugh!

Today I was going through work in my studio and I'm seeing stuff that I have to admit I'm really really happy with but I feel like I'm in this weird limbo with my work and I don't know what to do with it (longest sentence ever). The most logical thing is to show it, right? I just don't know what that venue would be for my work. I could apply to shows but what shows? Most of the shows that come through my email seem quite academic. My work crosses the academic line. So where does that leave me? I have no idea.

I used to put my work on Etsy but I think it's so super duper hard to sell art online. Can I just tell you for the millionth time it's hard to be making art outside of school. Only for me the problem is not the making. It's the showing. I make work all the time. I have some pieces for sale at Cracker Jax and I adore having my work in that venue but I would really love to try to get it into shows and traveling.

Please is there anyone out there with advice for a girl who just wants to draw hearts all day and then hang them in a gallery?

Home

2012-01-24T21:33:00.002-06:00

I don't want to jinx anything but we are making an offer on a house!! And This is a picture of the livingroom/dining room. I'm super duper excited and scared and a million other feelings at once.

All I can think about is how I want a space in the house that looks like this:

Source: odetteny.blogspot.com via Ann on Pinterest

Yes, I joined Pinterest, finally, so I could get house ideas. I originally saw this beautiful picture on the beautiful blog Jikits. Pinterest is not as overwelming as I thought it would be. Follow me on there at abeautifulparty.

Anyway, back to the house. My toes are antsy with anticipation. I hope to know soon soon soon if this beauty will be mine. More pictures to come when things are more real.

I'm off work tomorrow, paper terrariums are in my future.

Exes and Ohssss....

Kale Shake

2012-01-19T08:14:00.003-06:00

Now for a little something different...

This morning I made myself a kale and berry smoothie and it was actually good! It definitely has a leafy taste to it but I don't mind that. My boyfriend and friend were both skeptical and though the color is not intriguing at all it is definitely something I can see myself drinking daily.

The ingredients:

2 cups packed kale

1.5 cups water

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 whole banana

1 scoop protein powder

A handful of chia seeds

Start by blending down the kale with the water. Then add everything else and blend until smooth and an ugly brownish color. Drink up and feel good for being healthy.

I found several recipes on the internet but changed several around to make my own concoction. I had chia seeds on hand so I thought they would be a bonus powerhouse ingredient. Also I love the texture they add. Several of the recipes want you to add way way more kale than the two cups but I thought that would be pushing it on my first try. I may add more as time goes by.

Now go make yourself a yummy smoothie!

Crafting Anthem

2012-01-18T08:52:00.003-06:00

My good friend Adrienne sent this to me on facebook. This should be the anthem for every crafter. I'll be working all day today in my studio and singing this song at the top of my lungs!

If you don't know Leslie Hall check her out here. She's super duper neat-o!

Messy Studio Means Working Studio

2012-01-17T08:14:00.002-06:00

Remember when my studio looked like this? Well that was pretty short lived.

This is the state it's in now. But you know what? That just means I've been using it. I used to get in trouble in school for having a messy studio space but all the clean spaces belonged to people who never came to the studio. So I take this as a sign of studio success!

I've really been wanting to make a terrarium for a long time now. I've seen a lot of cute ones lately but I've been so perplexed on how to create one that is my own idea. My friend is making cutie ones in teacups and a very creative lady just brought some sweet ones in to the store that are in old salt shakers. So what is a girl with absolutely no green thumb supposed to do? Paper terrariums! I'm working on combining leftover banner paper and little odds and ends like dinosaurs and feathers and jewelry bits and making my own version of a terrarium. I'm still playing around with the materials right now and think I need to figure out a way to glue the pieces in so it can be permanent but here is a sneak peak.

I also got out my digital camera and played around with photography yesterday. I've been wanting to take photos of my rocks and crystals so I'm just experimenting right now with space and light. They are kind of fun.

I'm finally putting these gold toy animals to work...

I can't wait to see how these pictures print out. I think there is more photography in my future.

What are your studio projects?

Houses and Weddings and Bears, Oh My!

2012-01-10T08:07:00.004-06:00

photo source

Sorry I have been away so long. I just got back from visiting my family for Christmas! I missed Christmas day with them but this way was much better because we weren't so rushed and there was real quality time. While I was home we took care of some wedding things. It's a little stressful but fun, too. I can't wait for the big day. I'm trying my best not to be a Bridezilla but there are definitely a few things I would like to see played out exactly right.

We registered for some of our gifts. I picked out Fiesta dishes! I love how they have a vintage feel. Click here for some great info on Fiestaware.

So, on top of all the wedding day adventures my beau and I are also looking for a new home. The image above is not a home we are looking at, it is just one I admire when I google "bungalows." A bungalow would be my dreamy dream home but unfortunately there are only a few on the market around here and they have not been great at all on the inside. Did you know finding a home is so stressful?! Especially considering we are trying to find a home where we can raise a family. When I look at houses I have to picture myself with two teenagers driving me crazy. I need space! They need space! Who are these people and why are they making house-hunting so hard??!

That's what I am up to. In the few minutes of alone time I had yesterday I got into my studio. It's been a mess because of the holidays. I was spray painting jar lids like crazy trying to get gifts made. I didn't want to waste my time cleaning up so I watercolored in the middle of the madness.

Today I am back to work and couldn't be happier. Sorry this post was way wordy and less picture-y. Next time more candies for your eyes!

xoxoxo

Dripping In Candy

2012-01-03T08:11:00.003-06:00

I used to be (and still am) a huge fan of the fashion house Heatherette. In fact if you go for enough back in my blogging I'm sure I have blogged about them more than once. Their crazy designs and Andy Warhol-like Superstar muses like Amanda Lepore make me feel like my artwork is coming to life. I would definitely count Heatherette and Amanda as Muses to my own work. From the tiniest bit of research I have done it seems that Heatherette are no long producing work. I could be wrong? (Please!! Tell me I'm wrong!!) But I found another great designer to fill that fashion muse void.

photo source

Meadham Kirchhoff is design team Ed Meadham and Ben Kirchhoff and their Fall 2011 show is absolutely dripping in candy.

Do you think it would be okay if I decorate my future home exactly like this runway with balloon arches everywhere? This show is truly my art dreams come to life. I'm dazzled. Who are your art and/or fashion muses?

Julie Tillman in 2012!

2012-01-02T08:22:00.003-06:00

Happy happy 2012 to all of you!! I hope your holidays were wonderful and happy and all other words related to these two. Did you make any resolutions? It seems like the popular thing to do is not make resolutions but rather achievable goals. Or maybe that's just the popular thing for me to do. My goal is to work more with my blog. I love blogging but don't do it regularly. I know a lot of people say that's okay and it shouldn't be a chore but I think regular blogging is important and I want to get better at it. I want to interview more artists and do more studio tours. I also want to bring back my Dreamy, Artful Couple posts and BFF Artists posts. Those were fun to do. Maybe we will even check back in with some of those couples and see where they are now.

So, in working to meet my goals I bring you my first official artist interview of the new year. Julie Tillman is a dear friend who lives on the west coast and makes beautiful portraits. She has a couple of shops on etsy, one for her artwork and one mostly focusing on collage. Check out the interview and then visit her online!

Hi, Julie! I am always a fan of your work. Tell me a bit about what you are doing and what you are thinking about with your work.

It's kind of simple, really: I love people, and so I draw and paint them. I am fascinated by the human experience, and I just love painting faces. It reminds me of being a little kid, when you'd get those "watercolor" coloring books, but you just used water and the color was on the page and would magically appear. That was like magic to me! And I still get that same feeling when I paint.

You are in school in Portland by way of California. What was that change like? How many more years until you graduate? What does the future hold for you?

Since leaving home at 19 I've kind of been a gypsy, living all over California and in Las Vegas, but I was always searching for a place to call home, to put down roots. When I moved to Portland, I fell in love. To me this city offers everything (and more) that I could ever ask for. My plan was to move back to California after graduating (in 2013), but now I'm pretty sure I'll be staying here, indefinitely!

I'm really excited about my future. I came back to school with the intention of being a high school art teacher. So once I'm done with my BFA, I'll get my teaching credentials and start working with kids. I'd prefer to work in an inner-city school or an at-risk school, in order to share the catharsis and emotional outlet that art can be with kids who need a positive outlet. But we all know that art programs are frequently the first programs to be cut, so I think I'll just be open to what comes my way. And, of course, I will keep making and (hopefully!) selling my art.

Tell me about your etsy shop, do you have more than one?

I currently do, but I am thinking about combining them. I have my original shop: joyfulstudio.etsy.com where I send my art - both original works and prints. Although I opened the shop in 2008, it wasn't really until this last spring I put sincere effort into it. The growth has been somewhat slow, but steady. And I'm really happy to say I am gathering some wonderful collectors along the way. I recently just opened joyfulcollage.etsy.com for my collages and more "craftsy" type of art. I made the decision to keep the two separate, but I find my buyers are shopping at both, so I am wondering if my time would be better spent with everything in one shop, so I only have to work on promoting and advertising the one. I'm going to give it a little more time as is, so stay tuned and see how things go along with me!
You blog, too. What is your blog about?

Oh, my blog! (www.julietillman.com) It's just a mishmash of my art, my life here in Portland, photos I take, bits and pieces of my sketchbook, things that inspire me, and whatever else comes to mind. To give you some ideas of what I blog about, recent entries include: tales of a recent Band of Horses concert, notes from the Hello Etsy! Portland seminar I went to, some recent Etsy treasuries I put together, my answers to the famous Proust questionnaire, some inspirational quotes, and, of course, some of the newest art I've been making.

As a mother and an artist do you find it hard to balance those two identities or do they pretty much go hand in hand? Did it take you a while to get to where you are now with doing both?

I started making art as a serious endeavor when my girls were both in school, and as just about all moms know, you get what you want to do in whenever you can. My girls are older now, and both are very supportive of my art and my desire to get my degree. I frequently paint at the dining room table, which is right next to the living room. So we'll "watch" shows (I mostly listen!) together, or they join me at the table and do their homework. And sometimes I ask them for help with my math homework! It's not always easy, and I certainly don't get a lot of sleep, but it is always worth it. Being a single mom on top of it makes it even tougher, but I make it to almost every volleyball game (both my girls play), I just sometimes bring my own homework and/or sketchbook (especially on the long tournament days!) We just try to make the most of every moment.

Where else can we find you on the internet?

facebook: here
twitter: twitter.com/#!/joyfulstudio
pinterest: pinterest.com/joyfulstudio/

Sugar Tooth

2011-12-28T07:33:00.005-06:00

Ohmygoodnessohmygoodness! I had to share this with you right away! Have you heard of the artist group Pip and Pop? This is the info from their facebook page:

Pip & Pop are an artist duo from Western Australia. Pip & Pop explore utopian and paradisiacal worlds, drawing upon many cultures' folk & fairy tales, creation mythology, Buddhist cosmologies and contemporary pop culture. In exploring the aesthetics of super-abundance, Pip & Pop use a vast collection of made and found materials.

They are Australian-based duo Nicole Andrijevic and Tanya Schult and their work is currently on exhibition at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA). Their show is called "We Miss You Magic Land" and it's making my hear all aflutter. Check out thisarticle for more info on their show.

All of the pictures here are taken from their facebook page and are not just images from their GoMA show. You can Like them here.

I also found this sweetie-pie video while on my search for all things Pip and Pop. I'm not sure if it is in the exhibition or what the story is about it but it's just as wonderful as the work.

GOMA- pip and pop from Studio Joho on Vimeo.

My plan was to wait until after the first of the year to start blogging again. I wanted to get my brain refreshed and then really start putting my energy into posting daily and keeping up with this blog a lot better. Pip and Pop changed all of that. I was just too excited to show this. My friends and I all dream of one day living together in a small town or village and creating our own artist's commune. I think this is what it would look like.

I hope you are as inspired as I am!

Pretties and Scaries.

2011-12-15T23:28:00.001-06:00

Cuties.

Scaries.

Ghost Party.

Nine shopping days left until Christmas

Garlands Galore!

2011-12-13T08:58:00.004-06:00

I was just getting ready to post pics of my banners and garlands hanging up at Cracker Jax when I noticed the Your Are My Fave blog in my feed with a DIY for making a Christmas garland. I love the white on white for the letters. I have been wanting to make banners and garlands out of fabric but haven't quite figured out what to do or how. This really helps a lot. Neat-o!

Here are my banners up and for sale at Cracker Jax. I couldn't be happier with how they look up on the walls. Because I was way too afraid to climb that high on the ladder my very sweet boss Bryanne did all the scary work for me on my day off. She sent me pics and I almost cried. I hope I don't sound braggy because I promise I'm not. It's just so excited to see your stuff out of your house and on a new wall. I hope people like them and want to throw one hundred beautiful parties and decorate with them!

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for making fabric banners. I really want to make fringed fabric ones but am at a loss on what kind of fabric or trim to get.

Have a wonderful day!

xox

A New Age

2011-12-12T08:09:00.002-06:00

I didn't mean to turn 29 and never blog again. The time really got away from me. Christmas time in retail is a crazy busy time. It's a fun time, too. I love wrapping Christmas gifts, especially now that I have finally learned how to fold the paper on the sides. It seriously took me 29 years to figure it out.

I've also been keeping my hands busy at home. More and more jars are being made with little animals resting on top. I seem to go to the craft store daily. It's sort of been a relief to dive in head-first with crafting. Putting my Fine Art work to the side for a while has eliminated some stress. Yesterday I had the day off and my boyfriend and I went out-of-town to do some shopping and have a sushi dinner. I never used to be able to give up a free day to do something like this because I always felt guilty for not being in my studio. I think I am finally finding a way to balance it all with free time to spare. It just means less tv watching. Finally! I'm watching less TV. I still think I have my new job to thank for all this. I come home from work and feel inspired and just want to keep moving. Unless of course it's after a long Saturday. Then I just want to curl up next to my beau and watch anything that doesn't require thinking.

This post is a bit scattered. Maybe because my coffee is kind of week this morning. Hope your holidays are playing out well and are not stressful at all. Eat a piece of fudge and say out loud one thing you are thankful for. It helps burn calories.

Here's the corner of my home that keeps evolving. I could stare at this spot for hours. Just got that Bunny head at Anthropologie. Be still my heart...

Once A Year

2011-11-30T09:50:00.003-06:00

photo source

Today is my birthday! I'm 29 years old today, the last one before my thirties. I have always looked forward to my thirties. It seems like most people start feeling more comfortable in their own skin around that time. I have always felt a little too awkward and self-conscious and that's one thing I'm hoping to say good-bye to with my twenties.

Today I am the happiest I have ever been on a birthday since I started this blog. The only thing that would make it better is seeing my family. But I am fortunate that I got to talk to them all this morning.

Things are good. I feel at peace. I think I am becoming the person I want to be. Thank you to you all for continuing to visit my little corner of the internet. Keeping this blog is one of the things I love doing the most and I am grateful to have wonderful readers.

Now I am starting to feel superstitious and weepingly sentimental so I'll stop before I drive you all crazy.

Everyone eat cake today. Have two pieces, I'm not counting. ( :

photo source

Animal Lids!

2011-11-29T09:22:00.005-06:00

Thank you to everyone for the sweet comments on my engagement photo! We got the Save-The-Date postcards in yesterday and they look good which is a relief. I was worried something would potentially get lost in the screen to paper translation but it worked out fine. Phew!

Yesterday I had the day off and I really made the most of it. I also inhaled a lot of spray paint fumes but it was all worth it. I have mentioned before my love of the app Craftgawker. I get so many great crafting ideas from this site. For a while now I have been wanting to make jars like these submitted by The Daily Telecraft.

The night before my day off work I was brainstorming ideas and decided it was finally time to make the animal jars so that was my plan. And then a crazy moment happened when my friend Jessica posted this blog on my facebook page and recommended I check this out.
I think the universe was telling me something so I definitely gave it a go.

I bought a pack of animals, spray paint and jars. The biggest pain was figuring out what glue to use. I originally used a glue that I thought worked well with metal but I was wrong wrong wrong! Little animal feets were popping off left and right. I was bummed but not ready to give up. My boyfriend finally suggested epoxy so a made my millionth run to the stores for the day and finally found a proper solution. I'm still a little scared to tug too hard on the animals but I think they are mostly staying in place. I like the gold and silver spray paint best for a more polished looks but may try this again with different colored paint. I have some light cool blue paint that might be nice. I love this project! It's easy to do and the material are very easy to get. From now on every pickle jar I empty is going to be made into an animal lid jar! The possibilities are endless!

I can't wait for my next day off!

xoxo

Announcement

2011-11-23T08:19:00.002-06:00

I am getting married in June! Do you know how uncomfortably close that is? Not because I don't want to get married, I can't wait for that part. I just dread all the eight million things that need to be done. Seven million of those things are making paper pom poms and other wedding decorations. Aye yi yi. Anyone want to have a crafting party?

This weekend we knocked off one of the things on our to-do list. We finally got our pics taken for our Save-The-Date. I hate getting my picture taken so I was really dreading it. I wanted to use this photo as our inspiration...

Photo source here via here.

Instead we opted to go a bit (tiny bit) more traditional. We were thinking of American Gothic and I was also thinking of some of my older artwork:

We came up with this but it was a little too edited...

Ultimately we went with this. If it wouldn't have been too weird I would have had us dress as sheet ghosts.

One thing down, 799,999,999 more things to go.

Weekend!

2011-11-22T08:13:00.003-06:00

This weekend was a productive one. By getting to be creative at work it really makes me want to bring that creativity home and make lots and lots of stuff. Since I had Saturday and Sunday off my plan was to create create create. Friday night I bought lots of tissue paper and by Saturday morning much to my boyfriend's grief the living room had turned into a crafting zoo. Why didn't I use my clean studio space? Because it was clean! And I didn't want to mess it up!

So I made banners. Lots of them. Well, several of them. It can be time consuming...

So, it sort of doesn't seem like a lot now that I post the pics... But one is still in-progress and I am debating switching from tissue paper to fabric. Or maybe just making some fabric ones as well as. It's hard to get the wrinkles out of the tissue paper. I tried ironing them under a towel but that didn't work at all. Any suggestions?

I also made this in the middle of it all...

I had always wanted to take a toy animal and spray paint it a solid color. I love how it turned out and now I may be a bit addicted. I want to spray everything. Help?

That was my weekend in a billion and one pics. How was your weekend?

xoxo

Arts For Sale!

2011-11-20T21:35:00.003-06:00

I recently hung some of my artwork up at Cracker Jax. It's really exciting to see it all hung up together. If you live in the area I hope you'll stop by and see it. My new work is part of the collection as well. Yay art!

Some Things To Look At

2011-11-16T09:12:00.005-06:00

Good morning! First of all, thank you so much for all the sweet comments on my new work! I'm pretty excited and inspired right now so it's nice to hear I'm doing okay. Here are some (mostly) non-are related things around my place.

I got a "grow your own crystals" kit and I grew my own crystals! It actually worked! Science is so magical.

This pile of crepe paper is waiting to be turned into a pinata. I'm waiting to figure out what kind of pinata I want to make. The possibilities are endless.

I hung these scarves on my window in my studio. I can't quit looking at them.

This is my current favorite little collection. Those are snow globe frames from a craft store. I want to fill my house with snow globe ladies.

These next two pics are just artsy and this is an artsy blog so...

Celebrations are in order! The bathroom at work got cleaned out which means all new stuff at Cracker Jax!! If you're in the area stop by this weekend for the Holiday Open House!

Happy Middle of the Week!

New Work

2011-11-15T07:52:00.002-06:00

I just finished up these newest pieces. I feel like my work is changing and growing very slowly but it is changing. I feel like my work is becoming much more landscape oriented though it may not be a landscape set in reality. I think a lot when I work on these. I was thinking about isolation and worries and doubts. I feel like I pack so much into these pieces the same way I pack so many thoughts in my head. I hope that even though the colors are sweet and sometimes a bit saccharine the work is still tense and a little tiny bit unnerving. I hope.

I am not going to list these on in my shop but will instead hang them at my new job Cracker Jax. If you are interested in the work please contact me.

Cutie-Pies

2011-11-14T09:01:00.007-06:00

Good morning! I don't know if you know this or not but there are so many cute things on the internet! Breaking news! Here's a collection of some cutie things that are making me want to get in the studio.

Girlie Pains's Mel Stringer makes all kinds of fun paper craft goodies as well as zines, original art, brooches and more! This little birthday party scene makes my heart beat fast.

I'm wild about all of Jess Quinn's characters.

Courtney Chelo's shop Closer to the Ocean is filled with beautiful and nostalgic collages.

Aimee Ray has lots of goodies in her shop Little Dear but I especially love her embroidery work. The first one is title Rainbow Warrior. Perhaps a Cocorosie reference?

It's really amazing to me just seeing a small slice of the greatness that is out in the world and knowing there's more and more and more and more where that came from. I feel like that means the world is okay because people are out there creating and beautiful things are happening. Sometimes I let the bad news of the world bring me down. Next time I'll just think of the endless beauty that's out there and I'll feel better better better for us all.

Studio Day Success

2011-11-10T07:35:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I had the day off so first thing I did was hit up some thrift stores in search of books. I came away with some real finds. The Salvation Army just happened to be having a sale where 15 books were only $1. Just my luck. I love all those Time Life books.

Also, the Goodwill wasn't having a book sale but I really lucked out with the Family Creative Workshop series find. I'm pretty sure my friends Joanna and Don have these same books and they are always making neat retro crafts.

I keep playing around with this little heart. Valentine?

Here are some pieces that are almost finished. Just a little bit more to go. I'm also working on a print exchange that I am embarrassingly behind on. I feel like I have low printmaking self esteem lately. Do you ever feel that way? I need to start doing more relief. I always liked it but switched to doing mostly silkscreen because it was quicker and much more instant gratification feeling. Oh printmaking!

Do great things with your weekend. Bundle up in the cold. Drink some apple cider. Make tissue paper pom poms and write letters to your friends.

For Your Weekend.

2011-11-04T08:11:00.005-05:00

Some lovelies for your weekend.

I'm still obsessed with this song and video. How many times can you listen to the same song? At least a million...

Nicole Georges's new zine is out!

A preview of a feature next week, art by Julie Tillman:

And this beautiful Bookmobile Pic. I'm not sure where I got the image but I love it. And I want to hit up a bookmobile very soon.

Have a wonderful wonderful weekend.

xoxo

New Studio Style

2011-11-03T07:52:00.005-05:00

The other day I was admiring pictures of my friend Rachael's studio space. I loved the organization and how everything seemed so accessible. Everything she needs is right at her fingertips.

I also love that she has a little studio pet to keep her company. If I want my little critter to keep me company my studio was going to need some work and lots of cleaning.

So that's what I did. I completely rearranged my tables and basically set up the space so everything needed to make art is right by my side. I think sometimes in the studio it's easy to get lazy and not get up and get something you need so you make shortcuts. I once had a painting professor tell me that if you don't put every color of paint on your palette at once you will never use the paint colors you need but didn't put out. So this is my way of putting absolutely all my supplies on my palette. I did, however, put my glitter bottles on a shelf that is a little bit further away from me. A little goes a long way with glitter...

Finally my pencils and pens are in front of the table I'm using for drawing and not so far away!! And by far away I mean they were about three feet away from me before but that seemed soo soo far!!

I wonder how long that thread organization will last. I give it two weeks...

This will always be my favorite space. And the glitter is up high and away from me.

Those beautiful pillows are from LeiLiLaLoo. The cutie-pie dolls are from Project Grab Bag.

I'm hanging on to those Care Bears for my future children. All the rest of the toys are just for me. ( ; The painting on the right is by a dear friend who passed away way too early. I'm grateful I have this beautiful piece. That coin on the top shelf is by Cannonball Press. On the second shelf down there is a framed house (behind the far right camera) on the far right that my friend Meghan O'Connor made for me for my MFA thesis. Click on her name to see her amazing art.

My boyfriend built my flat files. I'm so lucky to have them.

That poster in the top corner was from the show my friend Adrienne curated. It's a beautiful poster. I think her boyfriend Brad made it. You might remember them from the Dreamy, Artful couple post a while back. They are still dreamy and artful.

Sorry I keep insisting on using my Iphone to take pics and they come out grainy. I never have luck with cameras and taking pics. But I hope you get the idea of my new space.

Now I'm going to work work work!!

Etsy-Sellin'

2011-11-01T08:12:00.003-05:00

Hey y'all. Lately I've been trying to decide on a direction for my Etsy shop. As most of you know I have started working at Cracker Jax which sells all kinds of things from art to vintage and everything in between. I can sell my stuff on consignment there and I am about to start hanging some artwork. I always felt like my work needs to be seen in person to be successful. I can also be a little self conscious with my work but once you ask me to talk about it I can't shut up. ( : So for now I am pulling a bunch of stuff and am contemplating also pulling my vintage items, too. I may wait for them all to expire. Are any of you guys etsy sellers? What is your experience like? I have been doing it for about three years with very little success. I'm okay with that, I'm not sure that I'm doing all that I can do to get my shop out there. I have dabbled in advertising and working with other blogs but it can get so expensive and has yet to pay off for me. It's weird not having a shop, though. I had a shop before my blog but I definitely find myself putting more effort into my blog. Any stories you can share with me? I would love to hear your take on it.

Here are some of the vintage/art that are still sitting peacefully in my shop. If you're interested contact me!

Wake Up!

2011-10-28T08:36:00.002-05:00

Forever ago I made this green and blue banner and knew I wanted to put words on it but I couldn't commit to what it would say. Finally last night I caught the crazy crafting bug and made myself pick something. Our bedroom has always been the eyesore of our place. We once had plans to frame a bunch of art and hang it above our bed but that's been over a year and I'm not sure if it's ever going to happen so I decided to hang the banner there. And what better for the bedroom then something encouraging you to Wake Up? My boyfriend said I should have hung it on the wall in front of our bed so we would see it in the morning but I think I will instead make another one for that wall that says Good Morning. Or, I'll wait another year and maybe we'll finally have framed art.

Want a banner for your place? Write me at abeautifulparty at hotmail dot com.

Home

2011-10-26T10:29:00.002-05:00

I'm sort of house-hunting. And by that I mean I'm spending way too much time looking at real estate sites and driving around aimlessly searching for For Sale signs. I finally found the house of my dreams. I hope hope hope hope hope it can be mine someday. I thought maybe if I put it on my blog and did some sort of love spell I would be living in it and writing my blog in by this time next year. If you know any good spells will you say them for me?

I would love to see the house of your dreams. Share it with me?

xoxo

Twin Peaks

2011-10-25T07:41:00.002-05:00

I only recently watched Twin Peaks for the first time and even though the show is twenty years old it still holds up. People are still so inspired and intrigued by the show. I've been thinking a lot about it lately, probably because of the changing weather. When I was in the middle of watching the series what excited me most was feeling like it truly was a passion project for David Lynch. I have to admit I don't normally care for his movies, they sometimes feel a little too pretentious. I think that's why it took me so long to finally watch Twin Peaks but I'm glad I finally gave it a go. The show felt so honest and genuine. It felt like Lynch was able to create this place with these people that encompasses everything he loves. The music, the fashions, the way Bobby talked. There were certainly times when the show got a little out there but it always had a foot placed in some sort of reality.

All that is to say this: I feel inspired by Lynch's passion in this show. It encourages me in my own work, especially when I'm in a rut. Maybe I'm projecting an experience onto Lynch but watching the show makes me feel like he was just this guy creating something for himself and it happened to be a hit. I hope I bring that same sincerity into my own work. It's so easy to get caught up in wondering what others think.

Sometimes you just need to eat a bunch of doughnuts.
xo

Love love love

2011-10-24T07:52:00.003-05:00

This weekend I made a new pom pom to add to my growing collection. It's the biggest one I've made so far and I love the color. I need to be making these for my upcoming wedding and storing them flat but I can't help but open them every time! They are so pretty and magical.

Speaking of magical... Have you heard of the Pom Pom Factory? I discovered the site via Pocketful of Dreams which is dreamy and magical as well. Pom Pom Factory is Hong Kong born designer Karen Hsu who now lives in London and creates all pom pom inspired work. You can buy her pom poms here.

I am so tempted to get rid of my furniture and make my living room look like this.
Do you think my bridesmaids would be down with wearing pom pom dresses? They aren't very figure flattering but they are super cute.

I'm in love love love and would work on that factory assembly line any day.

A Collection of Pictures

2011-10-18T20:12:00.003-05:00

I have some odds and ends photos to share. Like this bunny for instance. I love her but I wish so badly I knew what she was thinking. I sometimes feel like she's just sitting back and judging me. But sometimes she makes sweet little noises that I think is a good thing. I think.

Other times I think she looks like she's thinking this:
One day I was sitting in my apartment and I happened to look out the window and I saw this balloon. I ran outside to take a picture. I was so excited. Two women walked by and asked if they were disturbing my picture-taking but they never bothered to turn and look at what I was taking a picture of. I wanted to yell at them to look but I also wanted to keep this image all to myself. But now I'm sharing it so it's not such a secret anymore.
I love riding my bike down alleys because I love the backs of house. This is one of my favorite houses to look at. The front is beautiful, too, but the back is magical.
I finished these little plaques. My boyfriend wasn't impressed. He said I just glued the images on and that wasn't really art. But I assured him it was art because I painted the plaques, too.
When I was at home my dad had these rocks sitting on the porch. I nonchalantly picked one up and started hitting it on a bigger rock. To my surprise, it broke in half but I was sad to see it wasn't filled with crystals like I hoped. I was even sadder that my dad threw a fit because I broke the rock. I really underestimated my strength.

I decorated my curtains again.

I often decorate with deflated balloons. They hang upside down like some might hang flowers to dry. My house always looks like the day after a birthday party.

Suddenly my instagram photos have become very grainy. Sorry for the shoddy picture quality.

I hope you are having a wonderful week.

Look at this prettiness...

2011-10-17T20:52:00.003-05:00

As a follow-up to my post on my new job I didn't even mention how great my co-workers are. I'm looking forward to working with such talented and creative people. My manager Bryanne suggested I check out this music video. It's so pretty it makes my heart swirl. And! Spoiler ending, a man is holding a bunch of balloons. If you saw the video from Sunday where my friend Claudia made a puppet show you may have noticed the star shaped balloon that was used to represent a jellyfish. It looked like she attached tulle or something similar to represent tentacles. To be honest I have not been able to quit thinking about that. I wanted to fill up a room with star shaped jellyfish. Perhaps it could be my wedding theme?

Check out this beautiful video....

Also! I am embarrassed to say it but this craftiness has been sitting on my kitchen table for almost a month. Maybe a whole month. Remember when I talked about the My Little Pony horse award I was crafting? I can't get myself to finish it. I stare at this every day. Why am I so afraid? It's nonsense! Please tell me at least on of you are the same way?

Maybe I'll make an attempt at it tonight. Or maybe I'll go to bed early. Either way, good night, y'all!

My New Job!

2011-10-17T04:17:00.009-05:00

I mentioned last week that I have a new job. I feel like I have won the job lottery. I was hired to work at a beautiful boutique called Cracker Jax. If you're from the area I'm sure you've heard of it. Cracker Jax is a mixture of new and old and all things magical. From the moment you walk in every sense is put to use. Candles and incense are burning and creating a wonderful scent that spills out into the streets. There is enough jewelry to make my heart skip a beat. Every corner you look there is something wonderful. It's fun for me because each day I discover new things. It's the kind of store you could come to every day and still not see it all. I'm feeling very lucky and inspired. The aesthetics there are really going to wake me up in my studio practices. This is the change I needed. It's going to be interesting to see what direction my work starts going in. Click here to check out Cracker Jax on facebook and click here to like the shop. Enjoy all the photos!

Inspiring Best Friends Forever

2011-10-16T18:47:00.003-05:00

If you know me personally you know how much I adore my girlfriends. They are all so talented and amazing, I am lucky to be surrounded by such a wonderful and inspiring group of women. My best friend Claudia recently performed a show at TedxSpartanburg. The top video is something Claudia and a couple of friends made for the art's sake. The bottom video is the performance on a much larger and more ambitious scale. Both videos are breathtakingly stunning. Maybe it's the future mom in me but I cried and cried when I watched both of these. I am so proud of my friend and the creativity she can produce plus the story is so sweet and endearing. Please take a few minutes and watch at least one but hopefully both. They are so lovely! Cheers to my best friend!

FALL In Love (how many times do you hear this in Fall?)

2011-10-11T07:11:00.002-05:00

Fall never ceases to amaze me with it's beauty. Every year it's like I'm seeing it for the first time when I drive down tree-lined streets that are dripping in colors. It makes me feel young as I think about how Fall meant the beginning of a school year and so many wonderful possibilities. It's funny how when you are in school Fall means the beginning of something. Even post school I still think of Fall that way. For me it is the beginning of something. I just got a new job that is going to make me happy as a peach. I'm assuming peaches are very happy. I'll talk more about that later.

For now, here are my own collection of Fall images. They are not too unlike others' collections but that's a great thing about Fall, too. We all see this beauty happening around us and we all try so hard to capture it on film. This is my interpretation.

I went for a walk the other day and it looked like this:

And I saw one of my favorite houses.

I also saw this silliness in a tree. I normally hate seeing hanging figures but this one was too silly to hate.

While I was at my parents' house we had a family reunion and all the kids decorated pumpkins. My nieces and cousin got Best of Show in my mind.

This one has triangle eyes but lots of eyelashes. You can't ever forget the eyelashes!

More eyelashes.

We do a picture every year where we pose with our heads next to our pumpkin heads. My Dad has his own take on the pic. This may forever be my favorite photo.

So that's my version of Fall. What is yours?

Helping

2011-10-05T08:08:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I get so mad at myself for getting so down in the dumps over the silliest things. I have to remind myself how lucky I am and should be grateful for each day. I'm sorry if I sometimes use this as a venue to feel sorry for myself. I have some pretty exciting stuff going on right now that I can tell you more about later. Lets just say that I was feeling some positive vibes from everyone!

I would like to pay that forward and urge you to help with a fundraiser created by Abbey from Aesthetic Outburst. Around the beginning of September her town was struck with a terrible flood. There are photos from the aftermath here. This is a post about the flood. It's truly heartbreaking to see what this town is going through. Abbey has set up this fundraiser to help out with all the damages. Just click the button above and it's really easy to send some money.

I know that it's okay to get down about little things some times but it takes something like this to put that all into perspective. I really admire Abbey for her quick response to this situation and putting everything in motion to help the best way she can. Today I will be grateful and carry that on into the days that come.

Hugs.

Calorie-Free Ice Cream Treat

2011-10-03T07:56:00.003-05:00

I'm back after a wonderful and long trip home. It was hard to come back to be honest. I feel like I have been a little down on my luck lately but am hoping I brought back with me a new energy that will help me put all the sad and down things behind me. Also what will help me put the sad things behind me? This adorable handmade keychain I received from Claire at Dreams Are Necessary. A while back I sent Claire some stickers after I saw her post on her sticker book. In return she sent me the sweetest ice cream keychain. This gift absolutely made my day. Check out all of Claire's beautiful treats at Clairey Lou Creations. She also really needs your good vibes right now. Her beloved cat Cisco is missing. Please take a moment to send some positive energy her way.

Thank you so much to Claire for making my day brighter. And thank you all for being in this world.

Hugs

Tacky Fabulous?

2011-09-22T07:54:00.003-05:00

Good morning! Today is my last day at work before I go on vacation for a week! I'm going to visit my parents and attend my 10 year high school reunion. It's so crazy to me that it's been 10 years since I was in high school but at the same time it sort of feels like it's been 10 years. Ugh. Not that I feel old. I am looking forward to my thirties. I think I will do them much better than I did my twenties though my twenties have some stories they could tell. ( : Growing up is sort of weird, isn't it? In some ways I would love to go back and be the reckless 21-year-old I used to be but at the same time I would never want to do it again. That's why I feel like I should write young adult fiction. I can just live vicariously through that.

Okay okay so I made the wreath you see above. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I have this goofy way of making crafts. I am always compelled to add a bit of a tacky element and I think the strings and feathers are maybe taking it into that tacky territory? But is it okay?

I am also working on a different kind of wreath and I think when it's done it will look like an award you put on a horse after a race. But instead of a regular horse this would be more of a reward for a My Little Pony... I think it might be mega fabulous slash tacky. Maybe tacky decor can just be my thing. I'm not really trying to be ironic or anything. We'll see how it goes over.

What do you think about the wreath? Too tacky? Or just right?

I hope to be able to blog while I'm on vacation. I'll try to take many neat pictures of neat things. In the meantime have a wonderful week!

Some Things To Look At

2011-09-12T19:42:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I had the day off and spent it as creatively as possible and took pictures along the way.

First of all, check out this bunny. I have had Luxie nearly a year now. I should have a birthday for her soon. What do you get the bunny who has everything?

Over the weekend I worked on these small tissue paper pom poms and used them to decorate Lux's cage. Since her space is a bit of an eyesore I thought I could do something to make it prettier.

I also decorated these little corners of my world, too. Notice those rocks from a recent photo shoot?

I worked in my studio for a while...

and did this.

I made these, too. I love these little plaques and want to make more. Maybe instead of photos of rocks I'll draw my own.

Now I'm off to work. There is coffee that needs to be served.

Have a great day!

Hannah March Sanders, Master of Fine Art

2011-09-12T08:27:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I have featured a great interview with an artist on here. Today's interview is from someone we all know and love. Hannah March Sanders, who you'll remember as being dreamy and arty with Blake Sanders, recently had her thesis show at Louisiana State University. In her interview Hannah gives great insight on how she came to create such an ambitious show. She also gives great advice. She's like a big sister artist who tells it like it is.

In honor of this southern belle her interview is brought to you in Georgia font. Enjoy!

1. Your thesis show was beautiful! Are you relieved to be finished? What was the process of pulling it all together?

Thanks! It's just been a total whirlwind. I'm definitely NOT happy to be done with school. I'm a total academic. I love being in school. I even love to watch movies and read books about other people in school. I'm really going to miss all this great printmaking equipment and our libraries here at L.S.U., also. I am somewhat relieved to be done with my thesis exhibition just because it was such a mad dash to get everything done while teaching, planning and executing a wedding, and just getting through daily stuff like laundry and dishes.To describe the "process of pulling it all together," I think the key word would be "miracle." I got up early. I stayed up late. Blake helped out with laundry and cooking a lot. My school friends helped out with getting me 8' sheets of plywood from the hardware store in their larger vehicles and donated old clothes and things to me, both to wear and to crochet into floor pieces for the exhibition. After losing feeling in one of my thighs for a few months due to a pinched nerve from carving, I started doing yoga every half hour while working on my blocks to stay limber. I still don't really know how I got it all done except that I'm very stubborn, I don't have cable, and I don't really enjoy sleeping that much. And I love what I do, of course.

2. What is the show about?

It's about my love of literature and my experience with disasters in South Louisiana such as Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the extreme university budget cuts. It's also about playing around with fabric, sewing, crochet and becoming a stronger woodcutter. I love drawing and accentuating wood grain in the drawings through carving, so the show is also about experiencing materials on a grand scale.Below is my artist statement for my most recent work to flesh this out a bit more:

Artist Statement

My most recent body of work, Trials and Tributaries, examines disasters occurring in southern Louisiana, interpreted through the Greek myths The Twelve Labors of Herakles. Mankind’s false sense of control over Louisiana’s resources leaves us vulnerable to nature’s powerful acts of reclamation: hurricanes, floods and the ground sinking beneath our feet. While researching the details and origins of The Twelve Labors, I found a plethora of similarities with local culture, politics and natural disasters. The characters in these narrative prints include hybrid monsters drawn from Greek mythology, which I have then further augmented with various forms of local south Louisiana fauna and contemporary political figures. I explore events ranging from Hurricane Katrina of 2005; the BP oil spill in the Gulf, Summer 2010; and the raging university budget cuts going on during my thesis year, 2010-11.Trials and Tributaries includes woodcut prints on repurposed bed sheet fabrics, appliqué stitched together to form colorful, layered surfaces. Accompanying the prints, I also create collections of crocheted floor pieces called “foot prints,” which incorporate scrap fabric from the printing process as well as clothing donations from family and friends. The pluming shapes of the “foot prints” mirror Doppler images of monstrous weather conditions, encroaching on painfully smaller coastal cities and ecosystems. This powerful image of pluming dangerous substances or weather systems functions as a reoccurring image throughout much of my work about the Gulf Coast.

3. You work on such a large scale and use alternative materials. What drew you to that process?

I feel that it is easier for me to draw from my arm rather than my wrist, so a me-sized or slightly larger scale gives me room to really spread out and loosen up my marks. I've always loved drawing large, especially with a blend of charcoal, gesso, water and soft pencils on board. When I did more painting, I always enjoyed making the underpainting the most with those sorts of materials.

For my thesis I wanted to go as big as possible to really make use of the great large format presses we have at Louisiana State University. I knew I would probably only be able to get one or two colors down for each piece since I wanted to do between eight and ten 4' x 8' images in just two semesters. I choose relief because I love how powerful one color images in this medium can be, and wood is a relatively cheap medium in which to work large.

I started printing on fabric as a way to create cheap proofs (we had a lot of free donated hotel bedsheets around the shop), but I was drawn to their warmth and ability to flow around with the breeze and around other objects. Also, prints on fabric are generally washable and easy to transport. Due to some issues with printing on the fabric that I had in the beginning, I started cutting out pieces of prints from different fabrics and sewing them together to get the best composite image. I loved the new doors this opened up! I went to Goodwill to get lots of different bedsheets to explore pattern and color. I would print each block 5 to 10 times on different fabrics and then collage pieces together. We had some poly-fil around the apartment from a never-completed pillow project Blake started, so I began using that to stuff elements and create a 3-D effect in the final project.

Really, I just kept experimenting and exploring. Usually failures in one area pushed me to try new things to solve problems. I'm really falling in love with sewing and crochet and all the possibilities of these mediums! I just learned to sew last summer when I decided I wanted to make my own wedding dress. This was my first sewing project, and everyone thought I was crazy. But, fortunately, with some help from my grandma and a lot of seam-ripping and starting over, I made the dress of my dreams from a $1 pattern.

My drive to recycle/reuse materials led me to take scrap bits of prints on fabric and start crocheting them into large doppler-radar-projection-like floor pieces I call "foot prints." These also became a bit part of my show, and I continue to make them from scraps I have lying around and old clothes and bedding friends and family donate to me.

4. You got married in your last semester of grad school and I was honored to be part of the event. You were so beautiful and so relaxed! Was there any secret stress going on at all or did it really come together as smoothly as it looked?

You were an awesome flower girl, Ann!

There was a lot of stress leading up because Blake works three jobs, and I was so engrossed in creating my thesis work. We really got it done by not sleeping much and just sticking to it. Blake's a great mastermind of schemes, and the "Blessed Unions" wedding exhibition, performance and panel discussion plan of his blew me away! Basically, we just grit our teeth and did everything we could to make it awesome. Once we got up to Saint Louis, everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. We're a great exhibition-hanging team, and Blake is good at channeling stress into brilliance. We couldn't have done it without all of our friends in the exhibition, wedding, panel discussion and other friends and family members who came out for the events. My bridesmaids helped put me together and lead me in the right direction, and everything else was magical. Galen Gondolfi, the owner of the gallery where we were married, was a total godsend. He figured out the PA, loaned us a bunch of materials and even let us sleep in his bed. We also owe a lot to SGC for helping us meet up with Galen, advertising the events, and donating a small amount of $ towards the reception.

5. What's next for you and Blake post grad schools? Where will the dreamy, artful couple be next?

No idea, really! We'll go anywhere for a good gig. Presently, we plan to stay in Baton Rouge through December. Blake is teaching printmaking at Tulane University in New Orleans and Art Appreciation at Baton Rouge Community College. I'm teaching Design I and Drawing I at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. We'll both be getting something else on the side to help pay bills. I'm crossing my fingers for screen printing jobs we both applied for, but we might end up in the service industry part time for a while longer.As soon as we do move, we plan to invest in some screen printing equipment and get our Orange Barrel Industries business really kicking with a clothing line, visiting artist editions and more!

6. Any advice for students when they are looking for grad schools?

Apply for all the places you think you might want to go for any of the following reasons (or other reasons that are important to you): location, professors there you like, nearby attractions like great art museums, lots of family/friends live near there or go to school there (it's always good to have a community,) etc. Make a list of reasons why you're attracted to various schools. Maybe they have a great press associated with the school or professors whose artwork you really admire…Go and visit and make a decision based on your priorities list of why you want to be there, your gut feeling about the place when you visit, what kind of money they offer you, and what the assistantship program might be like. The biggest factors for me were getting a full teaching assistantship so school would be cheap and so that I'd get a lot of teaching experience since I want to be a professor, and then I also did make the decision in part because my boyfriend-now-husband had a job near the area. Also, I realized the potential at my school-of-choice to work large format in a ton of different mediums, which was really attractive to me. I think one of the things that sold me on LSU is their great collection of litho stones and their two 10 foot presses.Basically, decide what's really most important to you and judge where you want to go based on those priorities--but don't let logic shout out your gut feeling. Talk it through, and don't let any one or any university pressure you into making a decision you're not comfortable with.

7. Any advice for artists who are about to get married (me)?

It's going to be great! I can't wait to see an Ann Flowers wedding. As an artist, you can save a ton of cash by being creative and doing a lot of things yourself. That being said, don't be afraid to ask for help from all your friends and family! When Blake and I were feeling totally overwhelmed, we sat down together and made a big list of all the projects that needed to get done to make our events happen, and then we made lists of friends/family members who might be able/willing to help with each task. It was great to turn over a little thing like renting a PA for the event over to someone else. If you feel bad asking for help, as for it in lieu of a wedding present. Who needs a new whisk, anyway? What you need is someone to pick up the flowers while you are squishing into your dream dress!

See much more from Hannah's show here. Learn more about Orange Barrel Industries here.

Thanks, Hannah, so much for such an interesting interview!

Wild West Rocks

2011-09-11T16:33:00.004-05:00

Today I added a couple of new rocks to my collection after going to a very fascinating Wild West place. After I panned for gold and only got some tiny tiny pieces I gave in and bought a couple of real rocks. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me pay with my panned gold. So now, here is a very sexy photo shoot of some of my beautiful rock collection.

Suite Valley

2011-09-01T17:53:00.002-05:00

I just got an amazing package in the mail. My mom sent me some of my old Sweet Valley High books. I had an idea last week in regards to my artwork. I was thinking a lot about how my work had to do with young love and crushes and a kind of naive idea of romance. Now it's hard for me to think that way because I'm in such a different place in my life. I'm engaged to a great guy and even though I definitely still have a crush on him it's a much more mature kind of romance. But I'm not quite ready to get rid of the things I was thinking about it my past bodies of work.

I remembered reading these Sweet Valley High books and how much they shaped my ideas of what being a grown-up (well, high schooler) and being in love was all about. As a young tween I romanticized everything and still kind of do thanks mostly to this upbringing. Every time I go back to my parents' house I re-read these books and am always blown away with how out of touch they are with real people but at the same time they seem to really shape a lot of young girls' ways of thinking.

Anyway, blah blah blah... all of that to get to this... My plan with my work is to start reading these books and construct worlds based on the ones in the books while incorporating my own awkward characters like my ghost girls. I don't have all the answers about this work yet but I feel like I will find some things I'm looking for while I'm make it. I think I'm really just excited to start reading Sweet Valley High again. I recently read the new book put out that follows the girls ten years later. Can I just tell you that the tween in me was shivering with excitement when I bought the book? And while I didn't exactly love the book once I read it I could definitely keep reading more.

Those Wakefield twins... Can't live with them, can't live without them....

Smitten

2011-08-23T21:31:00.000-05:00

I am absolutely beyond smitten by this song and video. Please watch and listen to it over and over like I have. And then make beautiful art in your studio!

xoxo

More Crafting Goodness

2011-08-22T19:52:00.002-05:00

I'm back with a few more images of my crazy crafting weekend.

On one of my walls I had a cluster of art but it was starting to drive me crazy. Frames kept getting bumped into and nothing ever hung straight. I finally took them down in a mad fit and immediately filled these wooded looms with fabric. I've seen this done a lot and thought it was the perfect and cheap way to decorate. And, they are circles, you can't tell if they have been bumped.

This wall is definitely a work-in-progress but this is the start.

I also made a couple of paper flowers. This will go well with the fabric loom wall. It was really easy to make. Click here for a tutorial from A Subtle Revelry. It's crazy how many blogs there are out there surfing around on the web. I could spend full weeks just reading them all.

But instead I'll spend a couple of hours and then get back to crafting.

xoxo

Craft Mania

2011-08-21T09:06:00.003-05:00

Over the past few days I've been a little worried that I have been manic. I have been crafting like crazy, doing several projects at once. In the middle of all that I dyed my hair from blond to brown. What?! Don't worry, though. This isn't mania. I'm just finally feeling inspired and putting a lot of restless energy to good use. I had been in such a rut in my studio lately and it seemed like the only alternative was to watch a lot of tv and get really down. Then I came across Craftgawker. If you've never heard of it check it out. It's is an amazing resource of crafts and tutorials collected from many amazing blogs. So, long story short (or maybe short story long?) I have been trying out new things and have been on an absolute roll. And the brown hair? Just thought a physical change would be nice for the "new me."

Here's me:

And here's what I've made.

Found this garland tutorial at prudent baby via bridal musings. I've made two so far. Here's one.

And then I made some tissue paper pom poms. Tutorial found here at the Martha Stewart site.

I have made more things and have more things in the works but I'll save it for a different post. I don't want to overload you like I overloaded myself. Today is still early and there are more crafts to make! Happy Sunday!

What I love!

2011-08-10T20:05:00.004-05:00

Okay, recap on the new things I love:

Succulents

Crystals/rocks

Sea Creatures

And now... Jell-O!

Remember forever ago when I talked about this book I had? See it here: Jell-o Post

So obviously jello (is it okay if I don't put the hyphen between jell and O? it just makes typing awkward...) molds are not a new thing I love but I recently renewed my interest in them when I found this book in my studio.

I love their shapes and how clean and sleek they are. They are like art deco. There is something so decadent about them. Once I am done drooling over these images I may look up the history of jello.

I sort of thought it would be interesting to take this book and make every recipe in it, like the Julie/Julia project. Jello is way cooler than french cooking, right? I'll let you know if I start doing this and of course will document everything.

Meanwhile, check out these pretty pictures:

This is part of a competition. See more here.

This mold makes me want to die and come back to life and die again. I love love love it. The next two pics both come from The Joys of Jello blog. The writer may have already beaten me to the punch on the jello making idea.

Me oh my I died again. Get the recipe here.

Actual jello molds are so beautiful, too. I would decorate my house with this. Buy it here.When I last went to Art Chicago I saw the work of an artist who made beautiful jello molds. She/he waited until they actually molded and then took gorgeous photos of them. I did not manage to write down this artist's name. If you have any idea who this artist is please please please let me know. The photos are beautiful!

So long!

Gonna take some time to do the things we never have

2011-08-07T21:41:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to pop in and post this quick little video of what's going on in my studio. I felt compelled to make it when Africa by Toto came on my itunes shuffle. I always felt like this song should be in more videos. And that is Starbucks new trenta cup. 30 ounces of iced coffee means more studio productivity. Enjoy!

By the way, my studio is a total wreck!! I cleaned it a bit but ever since that shelf fell off my wall it has been a war zone. Just felt like I needed to defend myself...

Field Museum Field Trip

2011-08-01T07:29:00.003-05:00

Last weekend my boyfriend and I decided to go on a last minute trip to Chicago. Our plan was to hit up the Shedd Aquarium since I had never been and had started drawing more sea life in my work. Turns out, people love to go to the aquarium on a Saturday in the summertime as the line was the longest I'd ever seen. Who knew, right? So we went to the Field Museum instead. Sadly, not nearly as many people like going there apparently. I had been to the Field Museum before but I was still excited to see the current Whale show. So, I still got to see sea life, just in a completely different form than what I had expected.

Here are some photos from my visit. Found lots of inspiration for my artwork there and just some very neat things. If you are in the area you should definitely check out this museum.

My favorite stuff was from the Native American Room:

I also loved these guys from the Chinese display:

And the Egyptian room was amazing!

I also saw a few neat taxidermic animals:

On the train there I saw this crushed Silo. It was sort of beautiful.

I can't wait to go to the Shedd Aquarium now. We were going to go today but I opted to spend my day off work in my studio instead. I'm pretty excited about the stuff I'm working on so I felt like the aquarium would have to wait. Have you been to the field museum before? What did you love?

Art!

2011-07-19T20:28:00.002-05:00

Latest studio rut is at a standstill! I've been hard at work by re-working old pieces. My latest studio epiphany? More layers!! Back in the old days I use to pile on layer after layer with a little help from silkscreen flats. Nowadays I don't have silk screens to fall back on so it's up to me and a big bucket of gesso. I finally learned how to make it my friend while I doodle and draw and then paint everything white and start all over!

Here's my messy studio to prove work is being done.

Truth be told I actually hate working in this kind of mess but there is so much of a mess that I'm a little bit overwhelmed. Anyone want to come over and organize my space? Or else just submit me to be on a TLC show where they do it for me?
Here are bad iphone photos of in-progress work.

I'm not totally totally sure where I'm going with this work but I'm thinking a lot of healing crystals and cemeteries. Weird combination I guess. And as always there are ghosts! I'm excited to see where this takes me.
And here's an ice cream cone from Dairy Dogs. They really do put eyes on all the cones! Happy Summer!

Small Art World

2011-07-18T08:18:00.003-05:00

Remember when I was in the Molded Heroes show? Well I met someone from the show at a wedding yesterday. Small world, right?

I met Jaime Torraco whose prints I love. It's always nice to meet artists in person. Jaime's pieces, not surprisingly, sold out but there is still plenty of work for sale at the Sixty Bones website here.

You can still find my Jem prints as well as many other great ones.

Dreamy, artful couple Don Picton (above) and Joanna Goss (below) can be found there as well. Wouldn't it be dreamy to have their pieces hanging side by side in your home? If you hang them above your bed it will give you sweet dreams.
Buy yourself some summer artwork and go out and meet three artists today!

All Together Now

2011-07-12T20:02:00.010-05:00

I was recently asked to be in a group show in Nashville, TN and it has been quite an honor to be among such amazing and talented artists. Adrienne Miller, who you may remember from many posts in the pasts including a dreamy, artful post, curated the show "All Together Now" at Space 204 at Vanderbilt University. This is Adrienne's write-up for the show.

This exhibition will focus on the growing trend of pattern and proletariat influence in contemporary art. This show is not drawing works together by concept or message, but through form, color, materials, and the repeated mark. Elements of “lower art forms” are sneaking back into contemporary art in significant ways. Artists are using methods such as silkscreen printing, hand lettering, collage, and other unlikely material combinations with an awareness of current trends and culture. This type of work bridges the gap of playful, yet intelligent, having experience and personality without becoming pedantic. The rise of the rock poster, the influence of folk art, graffiti, craft elements and commercial design are infiltrating traditional gallery shows and should be seen as significant influences for the upcoming generation of fine artists.

The opening reception for the show was July 8th. I wish wish wish I could have made it for the reception but if you are in the area please stop and see it. It will be up until August 8. If you are like me and are too far away here are some beautiful images taken by Aron Wright. A big thanks to Aron for taking such beautiful photos. See more of Aron's photography here.

(my pieces are the two house shaped ones and the large one with the houses in it. click the pics to see larger.)

Here is a list of all the artists included in "All Together Now." I will hopefully get to do an interview with Adrienne soon about the whole process of curating a show. Meanwhile, enjoy the photos!

Artists:
Laura Baisden
Kelly Bonadies
Clare J. Bowers
Will Bryant
Andrew Burkitt
Chris Cheney
Gregory Scott Cook
Ann Flowers
Tate Foley
Alyson Fox
Chad Kouri
Bryce McCloud
Michelle Ramin
Stacey Reason
Sonnenzimmer
Brad Vetter
Betsy Walton
Lindsey Warren

Lulu Wolf

If you have facebook here is the info if you are in the area and would like to stop by and see it.

Oh!! And a write-up here!!

Thank you thank you, Adrienne, for being so dreamy!

Summer Beauties by Mari LaCure!

2011-07-06T21:41:00.002-05:00

We're in the thick of summer and it's hot! For those of you who have jobs and wear uniforms you wouldn't normally wear (me) you may need a little relief for your eyes. I'm not sure what I'm really trying to say other than.... here's some great great art and a fun interview with Mari LaCure! I met Mari like I meet most of the fantastic artists I know, at Frogman's. The famous print and paper workshop is currently going on right now and I'm beside myself with sadness that I'm not there. So I'll fill up my time with beautiful art and swimming.

Here's Mari!

A: Hi Mari! Thank you so much for doing this interview. I've been such a fan of your work ever since we met! If you had to explain your work in the amount of time it takes to ride the elevator from the bottom floor to an eighteenth floor in a fairly slow elevator what would you say about it?

M: My work is abstract and I draw mostly from my imagination. I build up lots of small, repeating marks to make a larger, more complex picture. I’m inspired by images of nature, both microscopic and macroscopic, such as plant cells, tree branches, stars, and galaxies. By layering different structures and using unifying patterns, I try to convey a sense of interconnectedness between all things.

A: When I first met you you were working on a very small scale. At Frogmans you started making a really large piece. Did making that piece start to change your work at all or did you continue to work on a smaller scale?

M: I think that the most valuable thing that I took from that workshop (Monoprint with Anita Jung!) was the idea to combine mixed media with traditional print processes. Because I had been focused on making etchings, I was limited in part by the size of the plate. My MFA thesis work which followed the workshop did end up being larger in scale, and combined woodblock printing with mixed media drawing.

A: Now that you have graduated from grad school what are you doing? How are you finding the world post-school?

M: I have been enjoying myself quite a lot since graduation. I think there are opportunities for artists, but it takes a lot of applying and rejection to find the right ones out there. I’ve been finding residencies to be a great way to travel and meet other artists, while keeping a home base in Lawrence, KS. This summer, I’m participating in an artist in residence program at Emmanuel College in Boston. Part of the program is to talk to students about our creative process and influences. So although I don’t currently teach, I do find that I use direct experiences from graduate school to share my work with others.

A: Do you have any advice for post grads who are trying to figure out what to do with themselves now that school is over? Someone like me?

M: I’m afraid that I will always be trying to figure out what to do with myself! I couldn’t have anticipated when I graduated doing any of the things that I have been in the last year, but I really think that you find your place eventually if you are flexible and have an open mind to new experiences. For example, I recently started working for a local craftsperson painting lawn ornaments, which is not like any job I’ve ever had before but I enjoy it a lot. I try to find work that I feel brings me a little bit closer to what it is that I really want to be doing.

A: What are your future plans? Where do you see your work going in the next five years or so?

M: Working for a small business has encouraged me to put more effort into selling my work. I hope to have some sort of way to make work available for purchase online in the next year. For the long term, I try to keep learning as many new techniques and skills that I can for my art. Right now I’m trying to become more skilled at Japanese woodblock printing methods. I’m also enamored by the possibilities of the artist book format and hope to make more.

Isn't Mari's work fantastic? It was so inspiring being in a workshop with her. Go to her website here to see and read much more!

What I love...

2011-06-30T10:07:00.002-05:00

Do you ever feel like you love so many things that you just want to erase all the things and start all over with a clean list of things to love? Just me?

I feel like in the past few days I've listed my love for rocks/crystals, underwater sea creatures and now succulents. I'm going to have a list of three things I love and let it grow from there. (I also love my bunny because she's sitting next to me and is so so cute!)

Yesterday I wanted to post about succulents but blogger wouldn't let me. Finally it had a change of heart so here are some beautiful photographs from Succulents Galore's shop. I love these magical plants. They are so resilient, too. Even my lack of a green thumb could care for them. I love how diverse they can get and how they are always photogenic. Do you have a succulent collection? I would like to start one.

Photo Not Available

2011-06-29T06:49:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to be a good blogger and keep it up but Blogger seems to be working against me. I've tried repeatedly to load the pics I wanted to share today and I keep getting an error. I promise it's not me! I tried to load the pics I showed yesterday and those wouldn't work either.

How about this pic from my Flickr? It's a bunch of toys and stuff on my studio shelf.

I may be slacking when it comes to blogging and drawing but I've been doing a great job making toy arrangements and looking at them.

Also, I don't think I've shared this yet. About a month ago I made these delicious fruit bowls using hollowed out pineapples. I filled them with fruit and granola and topped them with yogurt. It was a yummy breakfast.

See more of my flickr photos here.

Tomorrow I will hopefully be able to do the post I was planning for today. Or else I'll just show you slides from my last vacation. ( :

Gorgeous, beautiful, stunning and breathtaking...

2011-06-27T21:27:00.002-05:00

Oh me oh my! Look what I just found at My Love For You... Gorgeous, beautiful, stunning and breathtaking rock collections with a very artistic twist. Cori Kindred has found a romantic way to display her collection but instead of titling the rocks by their scientific name she instead gives them name based on their appearance. I'm absolutely in love. If anyone needs a present or two for me this is at the top of my wish list... ( ; I have slowly been building my rock and geode collection and now I'm inspired to find an interesting way to display them besides using them as backgrounds for my toy dinosaur collection.

These rock images remind me of a couple of photos I took when I was at the zoo. I hope I haven't already shown these.

I love underwater sea creatures. The remind me of my crystals and stones.

Thank you so much for the responses on my last blog. I'm so happy to hear from you.

xoxo

Time Flies

2011-06-26T21:05:00.003-05:00

Do you ever step away from your blog for so long that you're terrified you won't come back? I feel like I've been hiding. Sometimes when I get too far away from blog land I get embarrassed and then nervous about blogging again. Do you ever feel that way? I always feel like everyone has it together but me. I know that's a silly and irrational way to think but it can be pretty nerve racking. My nerves. I'd give anything to not have them. Or have a lot of nerve? I'm not sure which way to go...

Anyway, my neurotic-ness aside... I went to a wedding yesterday! It was my cousin's wedding and it was sweet and weepy and beautiful and all the other great feelings that weddings bring.

My boyfriend and I really know how to dress up!

My Mom, Sister, Grandmother and I all posed together. Three generations of strong women. This pic is missing my aunts and nieces and cousin. I come from a pretty great group of women.

And completely unrelated but aesthetically pleasing is this ice cream place I went to the other night. I didn't get a pic of my cone. It was ice cream dipped in sprinkles with candy eyes. Candy eyes!! Best ice cream ever!I have some great interviews with great artists coming very shortly. Now that I have gotten settled with my new barista job I plan on getting back into my studio and making more art. I will start posting here soon. I'm back! For reals!

Have a wonderful week, y'all!

More Art For Your Hungry Eyes!

2011-06-08T06:55:00.004-05:00

I met Sam Parker several years ago at a Printmaking conference. We have stayed in touch over the years and I have watched her work change and grow. She recently had her BFA show at Bradley University and I was absolutely blown away. Take a look while you read her interview.

1. Hey Sam! First of all, congratulations on having your own solo BFA show! It's such gorgeous, ambitious show. What is the title of the show and what is it about? Can you describe it in five sentences?

Sam: The title of the show is The Fabric of Li. It is the realization of a pseudo-garden that I often explore while in deep thought. Li is a neo-confucian word that embodies the flow and patterns found in nature. The title is a play on words because it is saying "these things make up the 'fabric' of li", as in the totality of it, but also referencing the material that the pseudo-garden is mostly comprised of, which is patterned fabric, mimicking the patterns found in Li. These patterns can include (but aren't limited to) muscle tissue, the grain in stone or wood, the flow of water, or the spiral pattern on the inside of a flower. By walking through my installation, the viewer should be able to catch a glimpse into my personal mental space, and see the image of Li defined in organic shapes, a flow of wild colors, hundreds of paint chips, and puffy patterned pillows consuming the walls, ceiling, and floor. All of these things, together, make up the flow of nature I experience while sitting in quiet contemplation.

2. What different types of media are you working with?

S: For The Fabric of Li, I was able to paint, chip away, glue, spray, and combine together numerous non-conventional materials in an effort to destroy their utilitarian use and allow them to enter the realm of Fine Art. A few of the items I used were: a closet shelf, a storage bin, paint chips, fabric, pieces of wood, pipes used for plumbing, pvc pipe, tubes, 3-foot pipe cleaners, sequins, spray paint, wire, buttons, air fresheners, pieces of fence, and then your typical oil on canvas.

3. What attracts you to working with installation?

S: Installation attracts my attention because it, much like music and film, has the ability to get the viewer involved within the space rather than outside of it.

4. What other artists inspire you?

S: I am inspired by Judy Pfaff, Sarah Sze, Shinique Smith, Kandinsky, Gauguin, and many others. The list of artists I look at grows larger at almost a daily rate.

5. What's next? Any grad school plans?

S: Next, my partner and I will be moving down to Austin, Texas. I just recently was accepted into the MFA program in printmaking at UTA. It's going to be great. The faculty there are really talented and I think they have a lot to offer. It will definitely be a time of growth both artistically and personally.

Check out Sam's website to see more images from her show as well as her paintings and work on paper here. This show is so wonderful. When I was having my BFA show I didn't have the confidence to do an installation. I was too overwhelmed by the idea. Sam is to be admired for jumping in head first and making such an ambitious piece. You will continue to do great, Sam!! Good luck at grad school!

Lets Look at Art!

2011-06-07T06:50:00.002-05:00

Thank you all so much for the sweet comments (here and on facebook) left on my last post. It's really wonderful to be part of such a caring community and I am grateful for you all.

Today lets look at some art, shall we?

I just realized today that two good friends of mine have started Etsy shops. They are both so amazingly talented so I'm glad that getting your hands on their work has just been made easier.

Rachael Madeline of Loose Tooth Studio is selling her fantastic mixed media framed pieces. They are all filled with romantic longing and escaped balloons. Don't forget to keep reading her blog here.

And Jessica Robles! Finally her prints can hang in your home. Her shop, Don't Call Me Hessica (and don't...) is filled with many of the gorgeous prints I have often featured here.

Both girls have been part of my dreamy couples posts so that shows you just how dreamy and talented they are. Get your wallets out and start shopping!

Good and Bad

2011-06-05T21:59:00.004-05:00

This is the movie theater sign in my hometown. My grandfather once owned the theater many years ago.

I have really been m.i.a. for a while now. The past couple of weeks have personally seen some highs and lows. Last Monday my grandfather passed away. I called him Daddy Charles. I've been at my parents' home all week and I'm so grateful that I could spend as much time as I could there. Through this sad time it's been so wonderful to be surrounded by family. It's a good time to see how truly good people can be. I looked for that positive light in the little moments; the meals, flowers, hugs and tears were all moments where love shined.

While I was at my grandparents' home I explored their basement where Daddy Charles liked to tinker around. He had his own little wood shop and he was always creating something. Later in his life he took to pottery and ceramics and dove in headfirst. He got a pottery wheel and a kiln and went at it. His creativity was to be admired. He was the type of person who would look at something, truly study something, and then say, "I could make that," and then he did.

Here are some of my favorite moments.

My sister planted these roses in my Grandmother's garden.

This is such a hard thing to go through. Being so far away from my family makes it even harder. But I want to go out on a high note. The week before my Grandfather passed, I became engaged. The ring belonged to my other late Grandmother's mother. It's nice to feel like I'm connected to her through this ring.

It's really been a bittersweet time. This is why I am so far away from the blogworld right now but I'm working my way back.

Have a wonderful week, friends.

Love you.

Dreamy, Artful Couple with an extra tablespoon of Artful

2011-05-23T22:10:00.004-05:00

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted. It's been busy times with a new job that I'm slowly adjusting to. Plus some great personal stuff going on in my life but more on that later.

Right now it's time for a new dreamy, artful couple for you to feast your eyes on.

I met Chris Wallace and Linda Santana at Frogman's Print and Paper Workshop, where real magic happens. I fell head over heels for this couple immediately. They are both super talented and so darling to be around. Now to share them with you. Take a look at their work and see more from Linda at her blog . Chris doesn't have a websites so please leave comments begging Chris to get a website up so you can see more of his dreamy work.

Like the last time I interviewed the couple separately so it may seem a bit disjointed.... Here goes!

I took this pic of the two at Frogmans in 2009!

Linda's Work

1. I have known you both for several years and you have always been together and seem made for each other. How long has it been? How did you two meet? Was it dreamy love at first site?

Linda: We met in 2002 and we’ve been together since January of 2003. We met through a mutual friend at a psychobilly show and I relentlessly pursued Chris for 4 months before it was official. For me it really was love at first sight, look at him :) (editor's note, I'm not sure why these two images where at the end of Linda's answer but I found it pretty charming. wing dings are the best.)

Chris: We meet through at a mutual friend who was more or less playing cupid, It was indeed dreamy, but also equally filled with awkwardness.

Linda's Work

2. Were you both artists at the time or studying to be?

Linda: I was in my last semester of high school and at the time I had the equivalent of 8 years worth of art credits somehow…and Chris was really into painting. We were definitely both on the artistic track when we met and it was something we bonded over. He started printmaking at College of the Sequoias a semester before I did and when he would visit me in Santa Cruz he smelled like lithotine so I have a fondness for it.

Chris: I would say so, art did play a role, we always enjoyed looking at art together and drawing.

Chris's Work

3. You both attend the same grad school. Was it important that you both went to the same place?

Chris: As for graduate school, we were not dead set on being in the same program(mainly because it of how rarely that occurs), or even both going at the same time. We did apply at different schools, and made an agreement on what to do if one of use got a fantastic deal. More or less, ether one of us was prepared to help the other one out in case only one of use would go. So getting into the same program, was really the best situation we could have asked for.

Linda: It was really important for us to go to the same graduate school. I went to UC Santa Cruz right out of high school and Chris attended a community college. He transferred to the Kansas City Art Institute when I graduated, and I moved with him so we’d never really been in school together. We just finished our first year at the University of North Texas and it’s been great working side by side.

Linda's Work

4. How are your dynamics working together in the studio? Can you go to each other for feedback or is there an invisible tape line separating the room in two?

Lindda: We work really well together, we are also very honest and respectful with our opinions and bounce ideas off each other. We share most of our tools and equipment and our personalities really compliment one another in the studio- I’m more organized and remind Chris of deadlines, and he’s a great motivator and gets things done.

Chris: We are pretty independent for the most part when it comes to our studio practice. We do give each other feedback, mostly on formal issues, and we give very honest responses.

Chris's Work

5. Do you two ever collaborate?

Linda: Our work is deeply personal and very different, as are our aesthetics so I never really thought of collaborating, I think I would drive him crazy because I can be super bossy! I won't rule it out though.

Chris: Conceptionally speaking we haven’t, but we had help each other with projects. On example was last year Linda and i carved a 4x8 foot woodcut in 3 days, the drawing was mine, but both of us considered that piece collaborative.

6. What's next for you guys?

Chris: I not sure, something zany no doubt.

Linda: We have two more years of grad school and hopefully, we’ll get married the year we graduate, it’ll be our 10 year anniversary and I’m not getting any younger! We’ve talked a lot about going back home to California as well, I’m very close to my family and I get homesick often.

Linda's work

7. Chris if Linda was a bag of chips what kind would she be?
I think Linda would be those fancy purple tortilla chips you would find at an organic grocery store.

Linda... same question about Chris....

Linda: He’s all that and a bag of Fritos.

8. Linda, would Chris rather have rancid bad breath (the kind that makes all your food taste bad) for a year or give up litho for three years?

Linda: This is a hard one! He loves litho, I mean, REALLY loves it, but he’s the sweetest guy ever and always thinks of me, so he’d probably give it up just so I wouldn’t have to put up with his breath funk. It would give him more time to work on the wood and metal engravings he’s been getting into.

9. Chris, would Linda rather eat nothing but fried worms for six months or give up her favorite printmaking process for six years?

Linda is adaptable, I think she would find a new favorite. Plus she is a lover of all animal even the smelly ones, she couldn’t eat them.

You two are the dreamiest artiest! Thanks, guys!!

Dreamy, Artful Couple with an extra dose of Charm

2011-05-16T07:53:00.006-05:00

I have wanted to do a post on this dreamy couple for a while now. Their relationship and their work is like one big mixture of a yummy party punch. Is it life imitating art imitating life? I don't really know what that means but I think it is... It's Joanna Goss and Don Picton!

I did an interview with this cutie-pie couple. Sit back, relax, read and look at all this eye candy!

I did their interviews separately so it may seem a bit disjointed. Never you mind that. ( :

1. Was it dreamy at first sight when you saw Joanna? Did you know that one day the two of you would be the dreamiest?

Don: Yes it was, her hands were covered in paint and plaster of paris or other such pasty substance. not in a million years did i think that.

1. First things first, Joanna... How long have you and Don dated? Was it dreamy at first site?

Joanna: Two years this november. i had a good idea when i met him, but it was on a walk in the woods wherein don presented me with a tiny, dollhouse-sized notebook in which he had chronicled our activities and dates since the very first one in superfine micron. i was obliterated by the dreaminess of this present. it was over right then and there.

Don's present to Joanna.

2. You guys work on art together a lot in the same space. How do you manage to make this work peacefully?

Joanna: Don can work super late into the night while i go to bed so that i can rise early and hit the studio first thing. somewhere in the middle we converge. don's got a canon of burned seasons of undeclared, strangers with candy, party down, freaks and geeks, to make art to. and i try not to talk a lot.

2. You're someone who is ALWAYS making art! How does your relationship affect this? How do you keep the art and romance alive?

Don: We both have 40 hour a week jobs, so getting in equal parts for relationship and work time sometimes leaves little time for sleep. also we try to work at the same time so it's kind of like killing two nerds with one stone.

Joanna's Flags

Don's Color and Activity Book

3. Tell me about your collaboration work the two of you have done.

Don: we put out a mini comic zine called comparratives, chronicling our lives before we met. i usually consult jo about colors i should use, since if it were up to me evertything would be grayscale. also we've been doing saturday afternoon photos lately.

Joanna: we are both stupified/satisfied by regalia from bygone ages. dons more comic books, action figures, video games... i'm like handi-crafts, knick-knacks and clothes. so this stuff informs the colors we work with and the subject matter pretty much every time. and since we both have an appreciation for minis, we made a small scale diorama of ourselves at work in the studio and sent out photos as our christmas card this christmas.

our interests and aesthetics are a pretty great match so don built this booth to take to craft sales and from it we can hock our handmade wares, sort of concession stand style. we love to recycle old craft recipes from the 50's, 60's and 70's, like homemade kaleidoscopes and string art and sew hilarious, kitsch-shaped animals from old patterns.
we just really value the handmade object and try to offer up something cool, as often as we have a good idea, to anyone we meet with the hope that it'll serve 'em well. we also wish to spread the message, "take time out to make stuff."

Don's work

Joanna's Work

4. Joanna, would Don rather eat nothing but Doritos breakfast, lunch and dinner for a whole year and nothing else OR only eat his meals in the form of a pill for three years...?

Joanna: Lunch and dinner for a whole year and nothing else.

Don's Work

4. Don, would Joanna rather shave her head and keep it shaved for a year or wear nothing but Tommy Hilfiger tee shirts for two years?

Don: ha, shave her head, i'm still waiting for the day i see her and she does it without having to be swayed by super rad fashion templates.

Joanna's work

5. What other dreamy artful couple do you admire?

Joanna: eric yahnker and alison schulnik. i think they're a couple. they might not be. in fact, if they saw this it might make things weird. but i've seen them together a lot in photos and they are, respectively, wildly productive and seem to be pursuing their creative lives with spicy zest. don and i are both big admirers of the style and ambitiousness of ray and charles eames.

Don: jack kirby and stan lee

Don's Hot Dog Warming Machine

6. What kind of art stuff have you learned from Joanna?

Don: How to properly line up screen prints using acetate, instead of my way, i called it "eyeballing."

6. What kind of art stuff have you learned from Don?

Joanna: He showed me the best possible publication of arts n crafts book ever made (The Family Creative Workshop), speedball @ home screen printing techniques, how to sew--don lends me his sewing machine regularly, how to fix things sans pouting, and i've picked up a ton of comic book and zine knowledge.

Don's Make Your Own Zine Kit

Joanna's Work

7. Don, if Joanna were an animal what would she be? What would you be?

Don: joanna would be the elusive northwestern united states spaz sugar glider, i would be a badass raccoon with a cape.

Joanna, same question...

Joanna: My best guesses are a bat or a mole and i'm a pairiedog.

8. What's next for you two?

Joanna: Shackin' up! Re-wall papering. his and her chip clips, negotiating cupboards and drawers. you know.

Don: a place together with a garage and enough studio space for us both. lots of zines, screen prints, clothing, and the 2nd aurora alley fest.

Joanna's Work

Don's Zine

Joanna's Work

Joanna and Don's Collaboration Zine

Hermit Crab Studios

Dreamy Couples Make the Cover of Dreamy Magazines

Joanna and Don's Collab Christmas Card. Amazing, right? Everything is hand-crafted.

Joanna and Don's Collab Kaleidoscopes.

See and buy Don's work here. See Joanna's work here. She currently has an inactive etsy shop but keeping checking back because it will be filled with goodies soon. If you are near Aurora, Il check them out in June at the Aurora Artwalk.

Recapping

2011-05-15T22:29:00.003-05:00

I didn't blog at all in the tail end of last week so I thought I would do some recapping. I have been taking so many photos lately now that I have some dandy Iphone apps that help my pictures look more interesting. I know I know I'm late to the Iphone app game but at least my pics aren't super yellow and blurry anymore?

Thursday my boyfriend and I got out of town and took a long walk and enjoyed the Springtime sun. On that walk I saw this beautiful statue of foxes.

I was also very much in love with this little explorer sitting on top of a turtle. Behind him is a baby bunny also on the turtle, along for the ride.

After our walk we stopped at a restaurant called Pi Perfection. We tried two different kinds of yummy pizza.

Friday night we went on a double date with one of my best friend couples. After dinner we all went to the little arcade in town. As long as I have lived here I've never been to the arcade. It was so much fun and had a lot of rad old games. So cool and awesome that I have to use the word rad to describe them.

I have Dr. Mario for original Nintendo so I was ready to take on the arcade version...

That's really all I have to show of my weekend as far as pics go. Today I updated my etsy shop with these new prints.

Check out the details here

here

and here...

Tomorrow I start my new job but more on that another time. I have some great Dreamy, Artful Couples coming up so keep your eyes peeled! (that sounds gross).

Oh! Look at me there!

2011-05-11T12:11:00.002-05:00

Last week I mentioned in a post that I would be featured in Don Picton's new 4-Square. Well now it's here and it can be yours for only $2! That's less than an iced chai at any coffee shop chain!

I haven't seen the whole zine yet but I can't wait to get my hands on it. Don drew the cover here. That's me with the ribbon in my hair. Well, I guess it's pretty obvious which one I am... I love that we are playing Hungry Hungry Hippos in this drawing because I recently mentioned how I want to play that game. This just seals the deal.

Here is Don's description of the zine and some of the pages inside...

Quarter-sized, 28 pages of sheer awesome. the second issue of 4-square has a sportacular Jarrad French story. Ann Flowers's'es's rookie zine yarn involving ghosts, tee pees, and jellyfish spectres. I do a comic that travels from the south pole to the not so deep reaches of outer space. And finally Alex Taylor, a man who has worked at more subway sandwich shops than anyone his age should have, tells a story about....wait for it... fast food jobs.
all this for just 2.00! buy now and put it in a plastic bag with an acid-free backing board so one day when your down on your luck you can sell it for 2.50, that's .50 profit kid. dig this, you but 4,000 copies, resell them when the market peaks, you just made yourself 2,000 bucks to spend on erotic massages. everyone wins.

Get yours today here!

Some Things To Look At

2011-05-11T09:07:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a day. That's all I can say. There were some ups and downs. One of the ups? My boyfriend made these delicious nachos for dinner. Turkey crumbles, homemade guacamole, salsa, onions, tomatoes, cheese and tons and tons of cilantro, my fave. It was delicious.

One of the downs? All the shelves in my art studio fell off the wall. I don't know why it happened but it took me over an hour to finally go in the room and deal with it. I was too afraid to see all the damage. Luckily and surprisingly most things came out unscathed. A few busted frames but art work was still intact so I had plenty to feel lucky about. But now this is what my studio looks like messier than ever. We are going to hang the shelves again today but I'm still a bit nervous of another disaster...

One bright spot in my studio are these awesome vintage owl pencils. I have had these for forever. My best friend Claudia gave them to me one year for Christmas and I hang them up in every place I live in. They are kind of like my version of the lucky horseshoe.

I have recently acquired some amazing art including this crazy beautiful piece by John Medina. We traded last year for it but he had to hang on to it a little while longer. Once I got it I was pleased as punch. It reminds me of the Mountain Monsters I use to draw. I think I'll keep this guy in my studio for inspiration.Also, when I visited with my friend Cassie recently she gave me this beautiful doily painting. I have always loved theses paintings so I am very excited to have one of my own!

Yay art!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday. I hope your shelves stay intact today and everyday!